


We NicoMaki'd as a Job?!

by MelodyFrost



Category: Love Live! School Idol Project
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-06-17
Updated: 2018-01-28
Packaged: 2018-11-15 04:03:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,745
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11222919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MelodyFrost/pseuds/MelodyFrost
Summary: Recently fired from her job, Nico finds new employment as Maki's housekeeper. However, due to a sudden turn of events (and a shoujo-manga level leap in logic) Nico ends up working... as Maki's wife? Heavily inspired by Nigeru wa Haji da ga Yaku ni Tatsu. NicoMaki-centric, but other pairs will show up too. Also first time writing prose in a LONG time, so apologies for any errors.





	1. Let's Get Married?!

When anybody had told Nico that her dreams were unachievable, she’d ignore whatever they’d have to say. But if anybody had told her that she’d be working under Nozomi one day… she would have probably kicked them in the shin until they apologized. Though her job wasn’t awful, she would have at least hoped to be some sort of big shot manager for all the up and coming idols. She’d probably have told the idols-in-training “Don’t take being an idol so lightly! Back when I was number one idol it took blood, sweat, tears, and an adorable catchphrase~” or something of that sort. Still, Nico didn’t think she’d ever be running odd jobs for a branch of a talent agency after her short stint as an idol. And the straw that broke poor Nico’s ego’s back? Nozomi was somehow the boss of that branch.  
  
“Nicocchi, would you mind running and getting food for our guests this afternoon?” Nozomi asked sweetly, looking up from the series of applications lying on her desk and shooting a glance at the other woman lying on the couch.  
  
“Eeh? I was just starting my break, Nozomi… Nico needs a nap after barely sleeping last night,” Nico moaned, rolling over. “Can’t you ask somebody else?”  
  
Nico gently tapped the bottom of a pile of papers on her desk, glancing at Nico again. “Did you forget who’s coming today? There’s no one else I can entrust this job to besides you, Nicocchi.”  
  
Nico stared up at the ceiling for a moment, pondering Nozomi’s words. Her eyes widened a little when she recalled what Nozomi had been implying. Management from the main branch of the agency were coming today for a meeting! Maybe this could be Nico’s chance to stand out…  
  
“Don’t even think about acting up, or you’ll be severely punished when we get home~”  
  
Nico shuddered as she remembered her roommate’s last “punishment.” “H-how about you let Nico off easy for being so cute?” she stammered, giving Nozomi her award-winning smile. However, Nozomi’s smirk held, despite Nico’s efforts.  
  
“Fine, fine! I’ll be on my best behavior. I promise.”  
  
“That’s a good Nicocchi.” Nozomi stood up, and approached her friend, rubbing her head gently. “Now go and get the food, okay?” Nozomi strolled back behind her desk, turning her attention to the work in front her once more.  
  
Nico rose from the couch and picked up her bag from the side of the furniture. “Alright, Nozomi, I’m heading out! Don’t grope all of the upcoming idols before I get back.”  
  
Nico stepped out of her boss’ (Nico’s still not over this) office and stretched a little, before taking the elevator and leaving the office building, with a little skip in her step.

\--

Maki glared at the block of code in front of her, with a gaze that could have probably frozen a lion in its tracks. She had been trying to bugfix for the past hour, but after the program insisted on failing to compile at least 15 times, each iteration met with an increasing temptation to scream, she was nearing her wits end. Maki had begun to twist her hair around her finger, lost in thought, until she felt a tap on her shoulder and swiveled her head to look behind her.  
  
“You look like you need a short break, I could hear your groans all the way from HR. Would you like to eat lunch with Eli and I?” Umi asked, offering a hand to Maki, while holding her bento in her other hand.  
  
Maki turned back to the program with its elusive typo, before sighing and locking her computer. “Might as well. Wasn’t making any progress anyways.” She muttered, grabbing her store-bought lunch from her desk and following Umi to the break room.  
  
Upon entering the large windowed break room, Maki noticed that a certain blonde was absent from the room. She looked over to Umi who simply shrugged. Perhaps something was holding Eli up, the redhead figured, before sitting down at the table closest to the window. Her long-haired companion took the seat across from her, carefully unwrapping her lunch gently.  
  
“Kotori really does make the best lunches,” Umi said quietly to herself, eliciting a small snort and slight smile from Maki.  
  
“A year ago, saying something like that would have been still ‘too shameless’ for you.”  
  
“And a year ago, you wouldn’t have even cared about a comment like that, or anything else I could say.” Umi joked back, Maki’s cheeks turning pink. “Who was it that brought me home to meet her parents because she had made her first friend~?”  
  
The redhead averted her gaze, starting to fiddle with her hair again. “W-whatever… Your wife really is r-rubbing off on you, you know.” Umi simply smiled at Maki and opened the cover on her bento.  
  
The door opening managed to break the momentary silence that had set in between the two women. A blonde in a ponytail entered the room, panting slightly.  
  
“I’m terribly sorry! I had to sort something out with Hanayo about Tsubasa in PR,” Eli quickly pulled up a chair next to her coworkers, unpacking her own homemade bento.  
  
Maki glanced at the lunchbox and shot Eli a look. “Where did that come from?”  
  
The blonde smiled back at the redhead, clicking the tips of her chopsticks together. “Oh just something my girlfriend’s roommate whipped up for me. I ended up staying the night at Nozomi’s place and she managed to convince Nico to make an extra bento for me.”  
  
Maki turned her own attention to her convenience store meal. “Sounds nice… the last maid my parents sent over quit, so I’m back on the store-bought meal diet…” She muttered, placing a too-salty piece of fish in her mouth. “Who’s Nico anyways?”  
  
“Have I really never told you about Nico? Nico, Nozomi, and I have been friends since high school, and somehow we managed to stick together. Nozomi always says that the three of us are fated to be that way forever.”  
  
“That sounds like Kotori, Honoka, and I,” Umi cut in, smiling as she recalled her childhood memories with the two. “We’ve been inseparable ever since we were little, but...” The words trailed off, leaving the others at the table intrigued. “Ah, it’s nothing!”  
  
Eli gave a concerned look to Umi, but she simply shook her head and smiled softly. “A-anyways Maki, when are you going to at least go on a date? I don’t think I’ve heard you talk about romance more than three times since I’ve known you.”  
  
“B-buehh? Dating… Is the furthest thing from my mind right now,” the redhead turned her attention back to her food, and began to dig in. Maybe she’d consider it after this project. Or the next. Or maybe in a few years.

\--

A small, pig-tailed and bag-laden figure left the elevator and approached the door of Nozomi’s talent agency. Huffing and puffing as she opened the door with her foot (just another amazing feat by Nico), she set down the food gently for a moment.  
  
“Nozomi better be grateful for all the wonderful snacks Nico brought back. Nico’s hands should be used for posing and holding microphones, not lugging around snacks for some uptight men in suits,” Nico whined, to no one in particular.  
  
Picking up the bags, Nico walked towards Nozomi’s office, stopping as she heard voices coming from the room.  
  
“-sorry Toujou-san but there’s nothing else we can do,” a gruff voice spoke apologetically.  
  
“But… Can’t we have them here for longer?” Nozomi’s voice pleaded. “At least just a few! It’ll be so hard to run everything without them.”  
  
“The company is cutting costs. We’re doing everything short of shutting down half the branches and relocating them to HQ,” The man responded solemnly. “I truly am sorry, but all non-essential staff have to go.”  
  
The bags of food hit the ground less gently this time. Nico was the number one temp worker in the universe, no way she could be considered non-essential, right? She leaned her back against the wall, slumping down to curl up in a ball. The door opened and the man strolled out of the office, and out to the elevators. Nozomi looked out the door and spotted Nico on the ground. She reached out and placed her hand on Nico’s shoulder.  
  
“So you heard… I’m sorry Nicocchi,” Nozomi’s eyes were staring at the ground. “The company hasn’t been doing well, and… you heard the rest… I’m so sorry. I wish there was something more I could do.” Nico’s face remained buried in her arms, soft sniffles sounding through the hallway.  
  
\--  
  
Nico awoke to the sound of a door being opened. How long had it been since poor Nico lost her job? A week? A month? 4 months? Nico had no idea!  
  
A flash of purple entered her vision. “Nicocchi has been moping around on the couch for 3 days. If she doesn’t get up and move soon, I’ll have to deliver divine punishment…” The gleam in her best friend’s eyes told Nico that she was serious.  
  
“F-Fine, Nozomi! I’ll get up!” Nico swiftly rolled off the couch, landing on her pajama-clad rear. “Nico’s poor bottom! If a national treasure is lost, I’ll personally sue you!”  
  
“Nicocchi should stop being so dramatic… or does it hurt so bad that I have to give that a rub too?”  
  
“N-never mind! Nico is 100% fine now!” Nico assured her friend, while scrambling and sitting up on the couch.  
  
Nozomi sat on the couch next to Nico. “Now that you’re behaving yourself, I wanted to tell you that Elicchi is coming over tonight.”  
  
“I’ll get the ear plugs.”  
  
Nozomi cleared her throat. “As I was saying, I asked Elicchi, and she might be able to get you something to do while you’re looking for a new job.”  
  
Nico’s ears perked up, her head filling with all sorts of glamorous ideas on what sort of job she could be getting in the near future. She a small smile spread across her lips as she chased her delusions, and Nozomi rubbed the top of Nico’s head gently, and smiled in return.  
  
“So, Nicocchi, what shall we do for dinner tonight? Shall we order out in celebration or-?”  
  
“Leave it to the number 1 chef in the universe!” Nico got up and strolled into the kitchen, quickly checking the fridge for ingredients. “Will tonkatsu be okay for you two love birds?”  
  
“Sounds perfect, Nicocchi.”

Not too long after Nico finished cooking, Eli arrived at the apartment, greeting Nico with a hug and Nozomi with a kiss that had to be broken up by the small cook. Following breaking up her best friends’ mouth wrestling session, Nico set the table and the three women sat down to eat.  
  
“So I heard you found a job prospect for our Nicocchi,” Nozomi spoke up, glancing over at her girlfriend.  
  
“Nozomi, I thought we agreed that would be a surprise!”  
  
“Ah, but then we wouldn’t have gotten such a nice, homecooked dinner out of it.” As she spoke, Nozomi thought she heard their cook swear quietly under her breath.  
  
“A-Anyways, what sort of great job did you get for the great Nico Nii?” Nico cut in, trying to restrain herself from yelling at her pigtailed friend.  
  
“Well a woman at my company has been looking for help for the past week. Her maid just quit and she was looking for a replacement.”  
  
Nico was only a little upset. “What? All of Nico’s amazing talents are going to be used as a housekeeper? How could yo—”  
  
“Nicocchi.” Nozomi interrupted the smaller Nico’s complaints both verbally and with a swift under-the-table kick to the shin.  
  
“I-I mean what a perfect job for N-Nico. N-Nico Nii will be the best housekeeper in the universe!” Nico exclaimed, mostly out of pain.  
  
“Great! I’ll let her know that you’ll be over! The job would only be about 6 hours on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the pay is about 2000 yen an hour, so you can still look for other jobs while working there.” Eli handed Nico a paper with a hastily scribbled address on it.  
  
“So, Elicchi, how are things going at work?” Nozomi asked, changing the subject before Nico could change her mind.  
  
Nico sighed and slipped the paper into her pajama bottoms. What had she gotten herself into?  
  
\--  
Early on Tuesday of the next week, Nico found herself (along with her bright pink basket of cleaning supplies) in front of an apartment of a total stranger. Wearing her hair up in her signature pigtails and dressed in a t-shirt and jeans she didn’t mind getting dirty, Nico hoped she looked the part of a housekeeper. She steeled herself, before giving the door two knocks. Poor Nico’s heart raced faster and faster as she waited for the door open. What if she was a big scary lady? If so would she ever allow Nico to leave and find other employment? Or what if- Nico’s thoughts were interrupted by the click of a door opening.  
Amethyst eyes were staring judgmentally at her own, before they moved to look over the rest of her body. Standing before Nico was a tall, thin redhead dressed in a black suit twirling her hair around her finger.  
“Good morning! Eli didn’t give me your name, but I’m your new housekeeper, Nico Yazawa!”  
  
A short silence followed Nico’s greeting.  
  
“I didn’t know Eli was going to send a high schooler. She should have warned me, honestly.” The redhead’s voice dripped with dismissal.  
  
“Hey! I’ll have you know I’m 26 years old!”  
  
“It’s okay, you don’t have to lie to me. You’re at least old enough for a part time job, right?”  
  
Nico scowled at the woman, then set down her cleaning supplies to fish in her pocket. She had a smirk as she found her ID and presented it to the taller woman. Her violet eyes swiftly scanned the card presented to her.  
  
“Weird. I guess you really are as old as you say you are.” The woman in the doorway ran her hand through her hair. “You can come in and look around now.”  
  
Jeez. She could have at least apologized for calling Nico a high schooler. Nico sighed and picked up her basket, before entering the apartment. What met poor Nico’s eyes was a terrible, horrid sight.  
  
“Umm… when was the last time you had someone clean your apartment?” Nico choked out.  
  
“The maid quit just last week. Something about it being too much…”  
  
“I-I can see why…”  
“I don’t get why Mama and Papa insist that I have someone clean my apartment. I can live perfectly fine without one.”  
  
“If they didn’t send anyone, your parents would need to send an excavator instead…” Nico muttered to herself, picking up a discarded tomato juice can and moving it to the overflowing recycling bin.  
  
The taller woman stood in the entryway and held the door open a little longer, looking Nico over once more. Nico turned and smirked as the redhead seemed lost in thought.  
  
“Nico knows you can’t get enough of your cute new housekeeper, but you should really go to work. Nico will have your apartment clean faster than you can say ‘Nico nico nii!’” Nico did her signature pose and flashed the woman her best smile.  
  
“Gross.”  
  
Nico pouted at the woman in the doorway, before turning her attention back to the disaster zone.  
  
“The spare key is on the table. I’ll be back by 7, so make sure to be done by then.” The woman called from the doorway. “And by the way, it’s Maki. Maki Nishikino.” A voice said softly, before the sound of a door closing echoed through the apartment.  
  
Nico laughed a little. Her new job was definitely going to be fun.

Nico groaned as she sat upon Maki’s newly visible (and cleaned) couch. Her arms and legs ached from all the bags of convenience store food containers, microwavable dinners, and drink cans she had brought down to the dumpsters. She shifted to make herself more comfortable, enjoying her break from trying to fix the disaster of a living space. What had Nico done to deserve such a sloppy boss? Not only that, it seemed like she couldn’t even cook for herself, if the burned and melted microwave dinner packages were any indication. And when she checked the fridge, there was no edible food besides tomatoes that must have been brought in by the last housekeeper. There was no way Maki could continue living like this, Nico had determined. Nico was supposed to be replacing a maid, right? Perhaps if Nico had time… She stretched a bit and glanced at Maki’s clock. Maki wouldn’t be home for another few hours.  
  
Perfect.

When Maki opened the door to her apartment, she was afraid she had gone into the wrong door for a split second, before barely recognizing her furniture that had been hidden under trash and misplaced items. Taking her shoes off and walking to her dinner table, a note written on bright pink paper stood out to her.  
  
“Welcome home, Nishikino-san! As you can see, Nico managed to unearth your apartment from all the garbage, and made about it half as pretty as she is! Also, Nico noticed that you seemed to only eat microwave or convenience store meals. So out of the kindness in her heart, your super cute housekeeper left some homecooked meals in the fridge for you to eat tonight and for lunch tomorrow! Since there were only tomatoes inside it before, Nico assumed you liked them. Don’t worry about reimbursement though; Nico just doesn’t want her boss to die of malnutrition before she gets her first paycheck. See you on Thursday!”  
  
Maki smiled slightly as she read the note from her new employee.  
  
“PS: You should totally play a song for Nico on the piano someday.”  
  
The last comment caused Maki to glance up at the newly dusted upright piano in her living room. How long had it been? Walking over to it and running her hand over the lid, Maki made a mental note to ask her parents to send over a piano tuner. She assured herself it was only because she needed stress relief from her current project at work.

\--

“Contract Marriages! A good idea or breaking the rules of wedlock?” The announcer on the TV called out, prompting the panel of hosts to respond in a mass of exclamations.  
  
Nico stared blankly at the screen. “Boring… And to think I got the time of that idol special wrong,” she muttered to herself.  
  
The door opened and Nozomi entered with a twirl. “Nicocchi, how was work today?”  
  
“Nozomi you can stop asking that. I’ve been working at Maki-chan’s place for almost a month now.”  
  
“Has she thanked you for the bentos you’ve been spending some of your hard-earned cash on?”  
  
“She’s gotten to about half of a thank you before blushing and running off. I guess that’s progress because she could barely form the first syllable two weeks ago.”  
  
Nozomi finished changing her shoes and set her bag down. “On another note, you’ll never guess what happened tonight~” She cooed.  
  
Nico rolled over on the couch, sat up, and turned to look at Nozomi. “Eli proposed to you?”  
  
“How on earth did you know?”  
  
A smirk spread across Nico’s face. “Who do you think she asked for advice for what kind of ring you’d like?”  
  
“Was that why she’s been sending so many texts so lately? Talking to you and sneaking behind my back?”  
  
“Guilty as charged. I take it you said yes?”  
  
Nozomi looked at Nico’s smug face intently, before bounding over to the couch and hugging her tightly.  
  
“You know I would.”  
  
“Good because all of Nico’s hard work would have been for naught.”  
  
“Also Elicchi asked me something else. She asked me to move in with her…”  
  
“GOOD! Maybe I could get a good night’s rest on a regular basis.”  
  
“Nicocchi, I’m being serious. If I move out… You wouldn’t have a place to stay. Even with your job at Maki-chan’s place, you wouldn’t be able to afford the rent here alone.”  
  
Nico pondered the conundrum she would be put into if Nozomi agreed to Eli’s offer. But at the same time…  
  
“Nozomi, as your best friend, go live with your girlfriend- I mean fiancée. Just so long as she promises to install noise cancelling walling. Don’t go getting her kicked out of her apartment complex.”  
  
Nozomi pulled her into another tight hug. “Nicocchi you’re the best~!” Nozomi exclaimed. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go wash up.”  
  
“Don’t tell me you guys-“  
  
Nozomi winked.  
  
“Ew.”  
  
As Nozomi skipped off to the bathroom, Nico buried her head in the couch pillow.  
  
“Now what am I gonna do…?”

\--

It was already Thursday morning and Nico had made absolutely no progress in her housing situation. Her mom and siblings had moved so far away from Tokyo after their building had been demolished. And to be honest, she liked her job at Maki’s place. Even though she had to fend off the beginnings of the great trash disaster every time she came to Maki’s place, she could at least feel some sort of respect from the other woman. Maybe there was something Maki could do about the situation? Nico’s thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Maki’s door opening.  
  
“Yazawa-san.”  
  
“Geez Nishikino-san, you could at least be more personable this morning! This may be the last time you see Nico’s award winning smile!”  
  
Maki looked taken aback. “Wh-what do you mean by that?”  
  
Nico stepped inside Maki’s apartment and gave the door a tug. Maki nodded and closed the door behind Nico.  
  
“Didn’t you hear Eli’s getting married?”  
  
“What does that even have to do with you?”  
  
“I live with her fiancée.”  
  
“Oh.”  
  
An awkward silence settled between the two as Maki seemed lost in thought.  
  
“Oh.”  
  
“Exactly, Nishikino-san! Nico’s in a pinch now! Nico might have to go back to living with her mama and siblings far away from any place with a good job…”  
  
Maki began to play with her hair, twirling a lock around her fingers.  
  
“I quite enjoyed your work here. Even though I didn’t expect much from someone who looked like you did on your first day.”  
  
“I’ll have you know I dressed up as nice as I could have.”  
  
“Clearly you need a better wardrobe.”  
  
“I definitely won’t be missing these conversations.” Nico said with a huff.  
  
“When are you leaving then, Yazawa-san?”  
  
“Two weeks. Or less if Eli decides to keep Nozomi over too long during one of their-“  
  
“Gross. I didn’t need to imagine that.”  
  
Maki’s eyes were on the ground now.  
  
“You’re gonna miss Nico aren’t you?”  
  
“Besides the fact that you never quit, I won’t miss anything else.”  
  
“Nishikino-san’s too cruel…”  
  
“Before I leave for work… I just wanted to say… um for the bento… th-th-thank y-you! Itmademereallyhappy!” Maki voice was almost inaudible as the gratitude slipped out of her mouth.  
  
Nico smirked and gave Maki one of her best smiles. “I knew you appreciated all of Nico’s hard work.”  
  
“ShutupI’mleaving.” Maki mumbled quickly.  
  
Maki turned to leave and a brief, so-dumb-it might-actually-work idea flashed through her head.  
  
“Nishikino-san, wait.” Nico grabbed her boss’ arm.  
  
“Bweh?”  
  
Nico spoke with as much confidence as she could muster. “If I can’t be your housekeeper anymore, then instead how about we get married?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been working on this for a long time since I write really slowly (think 1k word chunks whenever I'm free), and I hope you enjoyed the first chapter. Also I'm sorry for the almost excessive use of time jumps. From now on, it should be less time jumpy. Also not a whole lot of NicoMaki banter, but it should pick up once Nico is less afraid of getting fired. I'll get the next one out the next chance I get, some time in between AX prep and work. ;w; Thanks for reading! EDIT: Realized my formatting was a little off, so I fixed it.


	2. Maki's Decision?!

A deep red spread across Maki’s cheeks. “Bweeeeeeeh?” She repeated, much longer this time.

“Of course, it’d be a contract marriage, so I’d just do all the things I normally do for you, just every day! With a paid salary and since I’d share benefits from your job through marriage, it’d be just like a full-time job! And who wouldn’t want to spend every moment with Nico?” Nico spoke quickly, trying to explain her wild idea.

Confusion was still apparent on her boss’ face so she decided to drop the topic entirely. “N-never mind. It was a joke, nico!” Nico said, performing her signature pose. “Have fun at work, Nishikino-san!” Nico sang as she slowly guided the still-shocked Maki out the door with gentle shoves on her back. After her boss regained her autonomy near the staircase and began her trek to work, Nico shut the door and slid onto the floor. _Where in the world did that bright idea come from?!_ Nico sighed and stood up, stretching as she surveyed the room. Hopefully Maki would forget all about it by the end of the day.

\--

“Instead, how about we get married…” Maki whispered to herself. Much like the simple loop that somehow took her an hour to write, Nico’s words swirled around in her mind, seeming to come and go whenever was most inconvenient for her. “What does that mean? I don’t get it…” she muttered, trying to figure out what part of the program she was working on last.

“Having relationship trouble, Maki?” A calm voice asked with a soft giggle. “I’ve never seen you so frazzled over something involving someone else before. Usually you can just shut out the world and work. It’s honestly impressive.”

“Hey Umi. Umm… I-It’s about a friend.” Maki stuttered, sheepishly moving her hands to lock her computer. Umi shot her a look which seemed to say _Which friend?_ but Maki rolled her eyes. “I have other friends outside of work, you know. Lunch?” Umi nodded and waved her bento at Maki. Sliding her chair out from under the desk, she took her lunch out from under her desk. Following Umi to the break room Nico’s proposal haunted Maki once more. Maybe Umi could give her some advice.

Settling into her usual seat, Umi looked up at Maki. “So, what about marriage was bothering your friend?” Umi questioned her co-worker.

Maki sighed as she unwrapped her bento. “What do you think the words ‘Instead, how about we get married?’ mean? I-I mean another girl told her that. What could it possibly mean…?” Splitting her chopsticks, she began to eat as she awaited Umi’s answer.

“Well it seems that the other girl doesn’t seem one-hundred percent ready to make a commitment, right?” Well of course not, Maki figured, it was just marrying her for a job. “But for her thoughts to have gotten that far, it could mean this girl at least likes your friend well enough.” Eh? Nico liked her? Well she had to if she kept going above and beyond just cleaning and making sure the apartment didn’t look messy. “Maki, you seem really into this.” These words shook Maki out her thoughts. Ceasing playing with her food, Maki looked up at Umi.

“Ah, it’s just a really close friend of mine, so I-I’m worried.” Maki said, her face flushed. Umi stared incredulously at the other girl. Right. Umi was her best friend after all.

“Close friend? Wait… don’t tell me that’s how Eli got proposed to?” Umi asked in shock. “That’s so untraditional! Which kind of makes sense given all the things she’s told us about Nozomi…” Maki internally sighed in relief. At least Umi hadn’t picked up the actual subject of the conversation.

“Ummmmmm sure… Just don’t tell Eli about this, okay?” Maki asked, praying that Umi wouldn’t suspect anything.

“Don’t tell me about what?” A new voice rang out in the lunchroom.

“Ah! Nothing at all! Our Maki is just having some relationship troubles.” Umi said, returning her attention to her food. Maki screamed internally. The last thing she wanted was Eli _who knew Nico_ to find out about how she was seriously considering that proposal. It was a joke, right? Right?

“Our Maki is all grown up…” Eli pretended to wipe a tear from her eye. “Already having adult problems.”

Maki groaned. “Sh-shut up.” She stared at the food in front of her. _Nico’s_ food. The morning’s words floated through her head again.

Mama and Papa had been pushing her to start dating and get married… No.

She was still considering the morning’s “joke” proposal. Something _had_ to be wrong with her.

\--

Nico ran through her mental checklist of things she did for Maki. Cleaning up the trash? Done. Dusting? Done. Laundry? Folded up and in the closet. Bed? Made. And Nico’s personal project of having Maki eat well? Lunch boxes packed until her next visit. Nico did a fist pump. All in a day’s work for the universe’s number one housekeeper, Nico!

Now that she was no longer distracted with work, the morning’s events began to haunt Nico once more. Why had that stupid program before the idol program had such a dumb, wild idea? It frustrated the heck out of Nico. Especially because for some unknown reason, she thought it would be good to ask the most socially awkward person in her life to _marry_ her. Nico buried her face into one of Maki’s couch pillows. All she could do was hope Maki forgot all about that interaction.

A vibration and an “Washi Washi MAX!” ringtone stole Nico’s attention away from her misery. ‘Nicocchi come back home and help me pack~ c;’, the text read. That’s right. Nozomi was still getting ready to move out. Nico triple checked everything in Maki’s apartment, before leaving and locking the door on the way out.

“NICOCCHI~” Nozomi called right as Nico entered their apartment. A sudden hug enveloped Nico, its constriction causing her to gasp for air.

“H-Hi Nozomi. Would you mind letting me go? Can’t. Breathe.” Nico breathed a deep breath as the hug loosened itself and Nico no longer saw the path to heaven.

“Sorry, Nicocchi. I just miss Elicchi. Work has started to pick up again. The hospitals are “upgrading their OSes” and she “has to make sure the transition goes smoothly” or something like that. And after that little show of force from the main branch, work for me is starting to get stressful with how anxious everyone is…” Nozomi dramatically rested her head on her friend’s shoulder.

Nico pat Nozomi on the head. “Honestly, it’s good that you two spend some time apart. It’s kind of scary how in love you two are. And I’m sure your work will be okay. You’ve been running your branch for how many years again?” Nico could feel a muffled “two” being mumbled into her shoulder. “See? You’ve totally got this, Nozomi. Now go sit down and I’ll make you some food, okay?”

Nozomi peeled herself off Nico and nodded, moving to sit on the couch while her friend went to make dinner.

Nico sighed. Today certainly was the weirdest day for her.

 

As Nico prepped her weapons of choice for the battlefield of cooking, a slight knock was heard on the door. “Who is it?” she called out. A heavy silence remained. Another knock, quieter this time, was barely audible. She sighed. Perhaps it was an exhausted Eli, tired from work and wanting to surprise the moping Nozomi.

Clad in her pastel pink apron and panda pajamas, Nico opened the door to see a sight she had never expected. A certain girl whose cheeks were currently flushed as red as her hair.

“N-Nishikino-san?!” Nico cried out. A thousand questions raced through Nico’s mind.

“Yazawa-san.” Maki spoke, her eyes on the ground and her finger twirling a lock hair.

“What are you doing here?” Nico asked, the only question that came to mind. Unbeknownst to her, the surprise visitor piqued Nozomi’s interest as well.

“I umm… I…” Maki searched for words she planned so carefully before coming over. “I came to answer your proposal.” She said quickly.

“EEEEEEEH?!” Nico had never been so shocked in her life. This had to be a dream. Nico had fallen asleep on the couch in Maki’s apartment, right? Right?! Nico glanced behind her and hoped Nozomi was still watching the television, despite all the noise that she was making. Oh no. No. Please.

Nico made a shushing gesture, but Maki’s eyes were shut tight as she continued. “L-Let’sgetmarried, Yazawa-san!” Oh no. Nico turned her head to see a dangerous smirk spread across Nozomi’s lips.

What had Nico done to deserve a day like this?

\--

Nico dragged herself to work on Thursday after the barrage of questions and implications from Nozomi over the past day and a half. Knocking on the door, Nico was greeted by a Maki who seemed like she had barely gotten any sleep for at least a night or two. The two stared awkwardly at each other for a moment, still trying to process what had occurred over the past week.

“Come in, Y-Yazawa-san. I’ve, um, been working on something,” Maki mumbled, before walking further into her apartment. Nico stepped into the apartment and was surprised to see the room not nearly as much of a mess compared to previous Thursdays, but a quick peek into Maki’s bedroom revealed a trail of crumpled printer paper leading to the couch. At least a bunch of paper was easier to clean than some of the other things she had to clean in Maki’s apartment. Maki cleared her throat, furrowing her brow as she tried to figure out what to say to her housekeeper (or fiancée now? Nico has no idea) “Uhm, please sit down.” As Nico pulled a chair out, Maki scurried into her room before emerging with a fresh sheet of paper. “I drew this up since we last talked. Are these terms alright?”

Nico’s eyes skimmed the document. One line read ‘I, Nishikino Maki agree to pay…’ This was… a contract? Oh! For the marriage. “Jeez Nishikino-san, did you stay up all night writing this for Nico?” Nico asked with a smile, her nerves easing up a little.

“Sh-shut up. It was just to make this easy and official, that’s all,” Maki said, beginning to twirl her hair a bit again. “A-anyways, is there anything else you think needs to be added?”

Nico took a closer look at the contract. It detailed her duties, the pay and benefits, and the rules regarding personal interaction. “Well, Nico may have found a couple things. Does Nico really not get to sleep in Maki’s comfy-looking bed?” She asked with a smirk.

Maki’s face turned a deep red. “N-No! Of course not! That would be…improper for a boss to share a bed with her employee,” The word shameless almost left her mouth. Umi had really rubbed off on her over the course of their friendship.

“Calm down Nishikino-san I was just joking~” Nico cooed, her smirk still painted across her face. “Everything here looks good. But what about outside dating? Since this is just a contract marriage should we be able to date other people?”

“Hmm…” Maki pondered this question for a moment before retreating once more into her room. A whirr of a printer was audible from Nico’s position, and moments after Maki returned with another sheet of paper. “I wrote an addendum. If we date someone else, it has to be secret because that wouldn’t look good for either of us.”

Nico looked over the paper one last time. “I guess this is good, Nishikino-san. I guess you _can_ be reliable at things other than taking care of yourself,” Nico said nonchalantly, earning a glare from the other girl. “So, can I get a pen to sign this?”

“A-are you sure you don’t want to consider this further?” Maki asked, shocked. “This is a big life decision!”

“Is it Nishikino-san? It’s just another job. Nico will become the number one housewife in the universe! Nico nico nii!” Nico said, doing her signature pose. Maki sighed and handed her a pen, which Nico used to swiftly sign her name (including a little heart on the “I”) next to Maki’s. Nico sighed, admiring the signature she had practiced a thousand times. What would her father think? He had expected her to be the number one idol in the universe and here she was getting married…

“Nishikino-san!” Nico cried out. Maki looked startled. “What are we going to do about our parents?” Poor Maki’s face seemed to grow paler than she already was.

Maki cleared her throat, attempting to regain her composure. “I suppose we’ll have to have a marriage meeting before getting our marriage certificate. This is a big life decision after all…”

“Ahh~ Nico’s always dreamed of having a big wedding with a princely figure…” Nico said wistfully.

“No! L-let’s just have a small quiet addition to the family register…” Maki interjected, the idea of such a big event making her shudder. “B-besides, it would just create a hassle for the both of us if you ever need to leave your work here.”

Nico pouted. “Aww, Nishikino-san you’re no fun.”

Maki seemed like she was deep in thought as she heard Nico speak. “Umm… We might need to change that…” she spoke barely loud enough for Nico to hear. “W-we might need to sound more like a couple…” Maki’s face flushed as she forced out her thought.

“Like if I called you ‘Maki’?” Nico asked, her cheeks tinged slightly pink. Shock spread across the redhead’s face.

“No no no no th-that’s too embarrassing!” She cried out, hiding her head in her hands. “I couldn’t possibly call you N-N-N-“

“Relax Maki-chaaaaan~” Nico cooed, trying to stop her boss from having a total emotional breakdown over names. “You can call me Nico-chan, okay? I think that would be close enough for us two.”

Maki raised her head the embarrassment slowly ebbing. “Okay… N-Nico-chan.” This made Nico snicker. “Okay, m-moving on! When will we hold this meeting?” Maki wasn’t sure how much more Nico she could take today.

Nico glanced at her phone. “Do we want to take a moment and tell our parents the news?” She asked, unlocking the phone as she spoke. Maki nodded and rushed into her bedroom, trying recompose herself before dialing her father’s number.

Scrolling through her contacts, and considering the time of day, she decided to dial her mother at work. Listening to the dial tone, a slight panic set in. How in the world was she going to break this to her mother? ‘I accidentally made a stupid proposal to this girl whose house I work at and now we’re getting married when can you meet her parents who I know nothing about because I’ve only known this girl for a few months and we barely even talk anyways and I know almost nothing about her.’ There was no way that was going to fly. “Hello? This is Yazawa.” A voice called from the other end.

“M-mama~!” Nico sang, shakily.

“Nico, what a wonderful surprise! It’s always good to hear from the future number one idol in the universe, especially when I’m not expecting it,” her mother said with a laugh. “But there has to be some reason you’re calling me at work and not at home where you can talk with your siblings too.”  
“Hrk.” As expected of the mother of the great Nico Yazawa. “Ah.. About that… Well… Nico’s getting married so we need a time for you to meet the parents.” Nico blurted out at the end, hoping her mother would glance over the first part.

Silence followed on the other end of the line, followed by a contained scream. “Ah my Nico finally growing up and becoming a woman~!” her mother cried, Nico hoping no one else at the office could hear the teenage squeals of excitement coming out of a middle-aged woman. “Tell you what Nico, I’ll clear my whole schedule for planning everything out next week.”

“N-no! It’s fine, mama! We just want a quiet marriage. Especially if Nico ever gets her big break in the industry, you know?” Nico attempted to regain control of the conversation from her now overly excited mother. “I know you didn’t work on Sundays really… Is that still the same?”

“Aww, I just wanted to help my daughter with the big flashy wedding she always dreamed of,” Nico’s mother’s voice trailed off. Nico winced. Of course, her mother knew about that. “Yes I’m free Sunday. The rest of your siblings should be as well.”

Nico snatched a crumpled piece of paper from the floor, took the pen she was handed by Maki, and wrote ‘Sunday???’ in her (cute and curly) handwriting, before sliding it under the door to Maki’s room and knocking on the door gently. After a few murmurs from the other side of the door, a knock sounded and the paper slipped back. ‘Sunday, 5PM, Nishikino General Hospital. Mama and papa have to work until then.’

“Ehh, mama this is sort of odd, but I suppose we’ll meet with my fiancee’s parents after they get off work. Can you meet us at Nishikino General Hospital?” Nico asked, crumpling up the paper and tossing it in the trash.

“That _is_ quite the odd meeting spot, but of course whoever captured my daughter’s heart must be unique.” Unique was one way of describing Maki, Nico thought. A couple knocks on the door signaled that Maki was most likely done with her call.

“Okay mama, I have to go! I’m currently over at my fiancee’s house and have to start cleaning up the mess she made!” Nico said the last part louder to make extra sure Maki heard how much the papers all over the ground were going to be annoying to find and throw away.

“Oh, staying over at their house already? How my daughter has grown u-“ Nico hung up her phone abruptly, her mother’s words giving her flashbacks of the questioning she had received from her roommate.

Knocking gently on the door Nico spoke softly. “I’m done with my call. Are you one hundred percent sure about this?” Maki didn’t reply. Nico knocked a little harder. “Nishi- no, Maki-chan, is everything alright in there?” Still no reply. Sighing deeply, Nico barged into the room. “Maki-chaaaaaan don’t keep Nico wa-“ Her eyes widened as she saw what was inside.

On the floor, was one unconscious Maki Nishikino.

\--

“Maaaaakiiiiii-chaaaaaan~”

Maki stirred from her sleep. She had such a pleasant dream about a Christmas morning with her family, and now someone just _had_ wake her.

“MAKI-CHAN WAKE UP!” The voice called again, this time followed up by a rough shove.

“What do you want?!” Maki nearly shouted as she rose from her bed, irritated at the mysterious figure’s roughness.

“Well if that’s how you’re gonna treat your wife, I don’t think this marriage will work out.” Nico said with a pout. “And here I was trying to get you to take some ibuprofen and drink some soup. I even went through all the trouble of finding the recipe for ‘tomato bisque’ or whatever it’s called.”

As Nico moved to get up and put the tray of soup and medicine away, Maki reached out and held onto her thigh. “W-wait.” Maki’s head raced. What could she say? Something like “stay,” maybe. What _should_ she say? “Um, yousaidtomatobisque, right?” Maki blurted out. Well that was one way to go about it.

Nico’s brow furrowed for a moment, as if trying to decipher an encoded message Maki had broadcast, but then relaxed. “If you just wanted Nico to stay, you could have just said so~!” Nico said cheerfully, “But let Nico go get you some water for your medicine first, okay?”

Turning her attention to the ceiling as Nico skipped off to get water, Maki attempted to make some sense of what was happening. One, Nico was in her room. Two, Nico was probably off duty, considering her clock read 7:30 PM. Three, Nico was _taking care of her_. But why? The last thing Maki remembered was talking to her parents, hanging up and then. Oh.

__

Nico loudly entered back into Maki’s room. “Geez, Ni-, Maki-chan, you left Nico so worried about you after you collapsed on the floor,” Nico said with a pout. “I had to lift you into bed so I could clean, but I made sure to check on you every fifteen minutes to make sure you didn’t die on me.” Maki smiled slightly at the mental image of Nico lugging her unconscious body up onto the mattress. “Okay say ‘Aaah’, Maki-chan,” Nico said, holding the medicine and water in her hand. Maki complied and downed the pill with the subsequent (and totally accidental) deluge of water from the cup Nico insisted tilting into Maki’s mouth.

__

Nico set down the tray with the soup onto the now sitting (and previously coughing) Maki’s lap. Maki took a couple sips of it before turning to Nico. “Yazawa… no, N-Nico-chan. Do you think maybe we’re sorta, umm... moving too fast?”

__

Nico fought to contain her laughter. “Maki-chan, you make it sound like we’re an _actual_ couple. It’s just a simple business transaction, isn’t it?” Her voice was full of confidence. Maki was honestly somewhat shocked with how nonchalantly she was talking about marriage. Though, to be fair, the sleep deprived Maki from the morning also was rather nonchalant about it.

__

Nico’s gaze slowly drifted to the floor. “But… It’s kind of funny isn’t it? The one thing I meant as a joke, you took completely seriously. And the things I treat seriously are always dismissed as a joke. The heavens must be playing such a cruel trick on Nico.”

__

Maki was taken aback by this sudden admission. Was this the real Nico? Beyond all the smiles she hid herself behind? Or perhaps Maki was still dreaming. “Nico-chan…” Maki said softly.

__

“Ah, don’t worry about it Maki-chan~! Nico is just happy that you’re taking this seriously. She’d be suuuper worried if you didn’t have any worries at all!” Nico said cheerfully, the solemnity that had arisen before all but completely dissipated. “Now rest up, okay? We can’t have you collapsing on Sunday, nico!”

__

Maybe the moment before was all her imagination. Maki continued drinking her soup, eventually downing the whole bowl. She could hear Nico stifle a laugh as she dashed out of the room once more.

__

Nico returned and threw a napkin at Maki, still holding back her laughter. “Maki-chan you’ve got a bit of a tomato-stache going on~” She teased. If Maki wasn’t so tired, she might have throttled Nico. Maybe. “You better rest, Maki-chan. I can tell Eli that you’re going to be out sick tomorrow, if you’d like.” Maki shook her head. She could manage at least one email to her boss before going to bed that night.

__

Taking the now-empty soup bowl, tray, and napkin from Maki, Nico cleaned up the rest of the dishes. Maki, meanwhile, prepared herself for a proper sleep and shot Eli a short email regarding her condition. Less than half an hour later, Nico was slipping on her shoes and sending a text to Nozomi to make sure that she and Eli were dressed by the time she came back. “Good night, Maki-chan.” Nico called quietly, before shutting the door on the way out.

__

A slight smile spread across Maki’s face as she drifted off to sleep.

__

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY BIRTHDAY NICO~!!!!!!!! I meant to write an additional thing, but then work and other things got in the way. If/when I finish that, it'll be posted as an extra chapter!


	3. (6 Months Belated) Nico Birthday?!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maki tries to fix a teeny tiny problem.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have you ever just started something, rewrote it, lost all muse for it, and then finally came back to it?  
> That's totally what happened here. Also I'm studying abroad in Japan now, so that's cool too (part of the reason this took super long; I got busy here ;w;).  
> Anyways, enjoy the nickmack birthday shenanigans in the middle of winter. You can consider this part of the canon in the future, or just as one shot in this AU, it's totally up to you.

Nico was acting weird today, even by her standards, and Maki had no idea what was up. Nico kept shooting Maki glances and nudges like she was expecting something from her. She could be so _frustrating_ sometimes. For the entire morning, Nico kept looking at Maki like she was expecting something. She nearly bounced to the door, her eyes full of hope as Maki left. From outside the door, Maki swore she could have heard Nico reassuring herself of something. The train ride seemed to pass by like a blur, wondering what could have Nico so wound up. Taking the elevator up to her workplace, Maki basically threw herself into her chair, hoping to distract herself from trying to figure out the eternal puzzle that is Nico Yazawa.

Burying herself in the latest bugs that had popped up in the project, Maki forgot all about Nico’s strange behavior. Feeling the familiar tap of a bento box against her chair, Maki swiftly locked her computer. “Coming, Umi,” Maki slid out of her seat, before looking up. “E-Eli?” Eli gave her a serious look.

“Come with me, Maki,” Eli said, her tone unwavering. Maki followed her boss, not to the break room, but to the older woman’s office. “Maki… Nozomi has told me something quite disturbing…”

The hairs on the back of Maki’s neck rose. What could she have possibly have done? She didn’t remember doing anything wrong lately… Unless it had something to do with how Nico was acting today? “Umm… Eli, would it have anything to do with today in particular?”

Eli ran a finger over her desk and nodded. “Nozomi told me that Nico may or may not think that you forgot her birthday.”

Maki felt like the world stopped moving for a moment. On one hand, how stupid would it look if she, Nico’s own (fake) wife, forgot Nico’s birthday? On the other hand, how in the world was she supposed to know? Nico had never brought it up before during the whirlwind of events that had occurred since the two met.

Eli sat down behind her desk and tapped her pen on it lightly. “I told you to be careful with our dear Nico when I heard you two were getting married…” Slapping her hand on the desk, Eli glared at Maki. “But forgetting your own wife’s birthday is unacceptable.”

What was it Nozomi called Eli again? ‘A scary Papachika’, was it? If this was how Eli was treating her, Maki couldn’t imagine what life would be like for Eli and Nozomi’s possible future children.

“Ah, um… well… it’s just that…” Maki stumbled over her words. What could she even say to get out of this interrogation? “I’ve just been really busy with work is all…” Maybe this would get Eli off her back for a moment?

“That’s no excuse. Even when Nozomi’s birthday was in the middle of an important project, I still remembered to tell her ‘happy birthday’ before going to work. Though unfortunately, I wasn’t able to tell her again when I got home…” A slight blush tinged Eli’s cheeks, leading Maki to wonder what in the world happened at Eli’s apartment.

Still, Maki had to look for another way out… This certainly wasn’t what she was expecting when she woke up this morning. Wait a minute. Wasn’t what she was expecting? “A-actually, Eli… I t-totally did know it was Nico’s birthday today. I was umm… Just planning a surprise was all!” Maki stumbled over her lie, but she hoped Eli would buy it. “A-and also I meant to ask you during lunch if I could have the rest of the day off. I would have asked you earlier, b-but I couldn’t risk you telling Nozomi, and Nozomi telling Nico.” Maki faked a smile.

Eli seemed to nod and the tension in the air seemed to ease a little as she smiled at Maki. “Maki, you definitely could have trusted me with this,” Eli finally said, with a little pout. “I’ll let you have your time off today, but next time you plan a ‘surprise’ like this, please let me know ahead of time.” She shook her head. “This surprise better have Nico calling us up tonight to tell us how absolutely wonderful her wife is. Or else.” With one final glare, Eli seemed to settle down into her usual mood, opening her lunch box and beginning to devour the contents. Though the anger had eased, the terrifying ‘Papachika’ side to Eli had set off an internal panic in Maki. What was she going to do about that ‘surprise’ she _totally_ had planned for tonight?!

\--

It was no use. All the bakeries in the area were either unable to make what Maki needed (or at least what Maki thought someone like Nico would want), had a broken oven, or some other inconvenient and unfortunate excuse. Maki sighed as she exited the last bakery, wondering what sort of surprise she could possibly come up with to appease Nico (and by extension Eli and Nozomi). Sitting down on a bench near the last bakery she checked, she began to compose a short text to Umi, hoping her best friend could at least offer some advice.

_Hey Umi, a friend of mine forgot their girlfriend’s birthday. Is there anything they could do to make it up to them before their significant other finds out?_

Maki leaned back on the bench, wondering how many ways she’d have to apologize to Nico and the rest of her friends. A short buzz sounded on Maki’s phone. Maki’s hand was almost shaking as she checked the message.

_Maki, I can’t believe you would forget your wife’s birthday! You deserve whatever punishment Nico decides to dole out._

Maki exhaled sharply.

 _But assuming this is a friend of yours and not some sort of cover-up, Kotori always tells me that handmade gifts are the best. She says they carry the most meaning._ Maki sighed as she considered her options. It’s not that she couldn’t make something for Nico. It’s just that she never even bothered learning how to make something if she could just buy it herself. Maki racked her brain before inspiration struck.

 _Umi, what’s the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Nico and me? This is totally unrelated to the other question, by the way._ Maki deftly typed.

After a few minutes, a soft buzz signaled the arrival of the reply. _You remind me of magnets, always pushing and pulling._

Standing up and stretching, Maki wrote a quick text to Honoka and Rin informing them of Nico’s total lack of birthday plans and how they should totally take her out on a whim. Only because Maki wanted her out of her hair for the day, she clarified to the pair of idols. She didn’t need Nico poking around or whatever while she prepped her (hopefully life-saving) birthday surprise.

After mostly getting over the frustration that the useless bakers provided, Maki remembered there was always one person she could call if she needed help with something as small as a dinner with her wife. Scrolling through the scarce contacts on her phone, Maki selected the one she hoped could help her the most in this predicament.

“Hello? Mama?”

\--

_Bzzt!_

The vibration of her phone snapped Maki out of her focus. Her present was so close to being finished too! Checking the clock on her phone put her at maybe four or five hours since she made it home.

 _Nico-chan’s heading home, nya! Hope you weren’t waiting too long, Maki-chan!_ A picture of Honoka and Nico singing karaoke was attached.

 _Not particularly. You could have kept her out longer_ , she wrote, beginning to twirl a lock of hair between her fingers. She tapped the lock button, beginning to walk back towards her seat.

Ding dong!

Maki clenched her fist. Did everything set out to bother her today? Wait, no.

 _This could be Nico._ She shot a glance towards the empty table. The cake wasn’t even here yet and her present wasn’t ready... She shuffled towards the door, and opened it, revealing a large box and a girl with ashen hair enter her vision.

“Nishikino-san?” the girl asked, holding the box with one arm so she could adjust her baseball cap.

Maki nodded. “A-ah. Y-yes, that’s me…” she said quietly. Maki mentally cursed herself. Did her time with Nico teach her nothing about interacting with people?! “Umm, is this-?”

“The cake order? Yes.” The girl flashed her a smile. Maki began to go back inside the apartment to retrieve her wallet. “Ah! Don’t worry about paying, either. It was already paid for by whoever called in the order.”

“Oh…” Maki reached out and took the box from the other girl. “Th-thank you for making this on such short notice.”

“Ehehe~ No problem! Thanks for your patronage!” The other girl said with a salute. “We hope you choose CYaRon Sweets again! Full speed ahead!” With that, the girl dashed off, leaving a highly confused Maki with a box full of cake.

Sighing, she closed the door. Maybe she’d finally be able to finish what she’d been working on. It was still rough but it should be good enough for tonight. Especially since she was using something that she started around when she first met Nico. Not that it had anything to do with Nico in particular. Maki set down the cake on their dining table, running her hand along its cover. The box, a flashy pink, orange, and blue, seemed like it would be fit for Nico’s tastes. She shook her head. Now was _definitely_ not the time for to be distracted by the cake. Sitting once again at the piano bench, Maki began to play.

\--

Finishing the last two chords of the piece, Maki sighed in relief. It was 40 minutes from Rin’s text, so Nico would be home any-

Maki heard the door begin to jostle and she quickly hid the piano sheets in the bench.

“I’m hoooooome~” Nico called from the entrance, her eyes widening as she saw Maki sitting calmly on the couch. “Maki-chan, what are you doing home so early?”

“Welcome back...” Maki replied, forcing a small smile. Now was the moment of truth. “Ah, umm... Well... h-hap-” A loud growl sounded, with Maki’s face growing bright red after realizing where the sound came from.

“Maki-chan, were you so hungry you just had to come home for Nico’s cooking?” Nico laughed, switching her shoes and stepping into the kitchen and approaching the fridge. “What do you want for dinner today? Pasta? Fish?”

Maki stood up. This was not how it was supposed to go. She was supposed to take care of Nico, at least for one day. “Wait!” Nico turned to look at her. “Happy birthday, Nico-chan!” Maki’s eyes were shut tight as she admitted what she had been up to. “Ah… There’s cake on the counter…”

Nico stifled a giggle. “Is that all, Maki-chan?” she asked. “I suppose I’ll make tomato basil salmon tonight…” She began to dig in the refrigerator for the ingredients.

“Wait no, Nico-cha-” Another growl from her stomach interrupted Maki’s complaint.

“Shh, Maki-chan. Let me take care of you first, and then we can talk about Nico’s birthday. After all, it _is_ my job.” Nico said, flashing Maki a bright smile. Humming, she began to extract the ingredients and began to prepare dinner.

Maki returned to sitting on the couch. Right. It was still a job for Nico. Why did she even get so invested in Nico’s birthday anyways? She could have just bought something fancy and it would probably have pleased Nico just as much. Her ears perked up a little as she heard Nico speaking softly to herself.

“...Besides, Maki-chan’s smile is enough of a present for me.”

A light red spread across Maki’s face. She knew why she did all this for someone who’s simply working as her wife. Not only because of the threat of Eli and Nozomi. Not because she felt bad as an employer. But because…

Maki placed a hand on her chest, feeling the rapid beats of her heart. It was that wonderful bliss again, that warmth beneath her skin. She still didn’t know exactly what to call the feeling that bubbled up every time she saw Nico’s smile. But she knew that she wanted to feel that warmth forever.

\-- 

With the cake safely preserved in the refrigerator, Nico brought two plates of salmon to the table. Watching Maki’s eyes light up as she set the plate in front of her, Nico stifled a giggle. Running back to grab utensils, Nico found Maki practically drooling over her food.

“Maki-chan should be more honest about the things she likes, nico,” Nico said as she handed Maki her set of utensils.

“Bueh? What are you talking about, Nico-chan?” Maki exclaimed, beginning to fiddle with her hair again. “I’m honest about liking tomatoes, aren’t I?”

Nico giggled softly. “That’s not quite what I meant, Maki-chan. Do you only like tomatoes? Don’t you like Nico too?”

“I-I… I don’t get what you’re saying at all!” Maki cried, blushing, before beginning to dig into her food. A small smile spread across Nico’s lips before she began to dig into the fruit of her efforts along with her wife.

-

“So… um… Nico-chan,” Maki began. “What should we do with the rest of the cake?”

A groan emerged from the other side of the table. “I don’t know… Why did you order such a big cake anyways?” Nico seemed to be sliding down her chair, not bothering to move at all. “Maybe I’ll take it down to my family tomorrow. I’m sure the kids would enjoy the sweets.”

She unenthusiastically lifted herself off of the chair and packed the cake away into a container, and placed it into the refrigerator, taking up less space than it had before. Turning to Maki, Nico’s lips curled into a smug grin. “Now that that’s all taken care of… What sort of gift did Maki-chan get Nico? Maybe it’s something big, like a car? Ah, but then Nico would feel bad. Well, maybe not enough to give it back.” She looked at her wife expectantly.

Clearing her throat and excusing herself from the table, Maki talked over her shoulder.“Ah well… U-unfortunately it’s nothing like that…” A melodramatic hurt splashed across Nico’s face. “Actually Nico-chan, come sit on the couch, and I’ll show you your present.” Maki approached her keyboard as Nico seated herself on the couch behind Maki.

 _Okay, Maki, it’s now or never_ , she thought, as she set the sheet music on her stand.

Maki closed her eyes and struck the first chord, feeling the music flow through her as she began to play. As the opening bars finished, Maki began to sing.

“ _Kocchi miteru-_ ”

“ _Kocchi minaide!_ ”

A voice next to Maki startled her. “N-Nico-chan?” Maki turned to see her wife poring over the pages of Maki’s composition.

Nico nodded as she seemed to confirm something to herself. “This is a duet isn’t it, Maki-chan?”

Maki averted her eyes and swore she could hear Nico snicker.

“Let me sing with you,” Nico insisted.

Her face a slight shade redder than before, Maki started to play once more.

“ _Kocchi miteru?_ ”

“ _Kocchi minaide!_ ”

“ _Wana wana wana wana nanda?!_ ”

\--

As Maki played the final chords of the song, she dreaded turning to look at Nico. She was sure she’d get a couple jabs for the lyrics being so sappy, or the song not fitting Maki’s usual taste. However, when she turned to Nico, she found the girl crying.

“Ah, Nico-chan, w-was it really that bad?” Maki asked, her voice wavering slightly.

Nico stared at Maki for a moment, the tears momentarily halting, before pulling the other woman into a hug. A thousand thoughts raced through Maki’s head. What in the world just happened. Was Nico happy or not? Did she somehow ruin her totally amazing plan to play off forgetting her wife’s birthday? The feeling of giggles against her shoulder brought Maki out of her thoughts and back to reality. Nico was _laughing_.

“Maki-chan, you big dummy. I loved it. I think that’s one of the most meaningful gifts anyone has ever given me,” Nico whispered. Releasing her embrace, Nico looked up at Maki and gave her a warm smile (Maki thinks this smile is brighter than any of her Nico Niis) as she wiped away her tears.

A wave of relief washed over Maki. Somehow she had made it all the way through Nico’s birthday. Cake, present, and all, Maki had put together something that made Nico smile her real smile for once. She sighted gently, closing her eyes, and placing her hands on her lap.

“Since Maki-chan did her best today, Nico should at least be honest,” Nico said, a small grin now on her face. “Nico remembered that she never told Maki-chan when her birthday was. But to be honest, that was after pouring her poor heart out to Nozomi about how she was so afraid of her wife forgetting her birthday. Besides, Nico wanted to see Maki’s cute reactio-”

“NI...CO...CHAN…” The relief in Maki’s body was swiftly replaced by frustration. Did Nico even know how much stress Maki had been under the whole day? “Tonight you’re sleeping on the futon.”

“W-wait Maki-chan, I didn’t mean to make you stress out or anyth-”

 

“Goodnight, Nico-chan.”


End file.
